The adventures of a coterie of Cainites in the Dark Medieval world. Drawn together by prophecy and fuelled by ambition, they struggle against the dying of the Long Night...

Justis Giovanni

A skilled doctor, Justis is an earnest humanitarian. He is loyal to his family and clan, and very much the devoted student of his sire, Roberto di Noldo.

Description:

An Italian dressed in the garb of a physician, though the cloth is of unusually fine cut. With his fine bones, carefully groomed beard and long, wavy hair he would be judged handsome, if not for the deathly cast to his skin. He is armed only with a simple knife.

Bio:

Justis was born to a prominent member of the Giovanni family and at an early age showed a remarkable intelligence and eagerness to learn. His father, Fabio, first sought to make a merchant out of him but alas, Justis showed little skill with money and goods. He was then sent to Salerno to study medicine and nigrimancy, but despite being a very good and determined student, he couldn’t master even the basic ways of the Black Arts.

In despair, he was sent north to Lübeck as an emissary to the emerging Hanseatic League. While there he opened his own medical practice to continue his studies of the human condition, and he immersed himself into the nightlife of the burgeoning merchant nobility. In short order, his interest in matters medical and a decidedly deviant humanitarian streak (for a Giovanni) caught the attention of the Cappadocian elder, Roberto di Noldo, who happened to share his proclivities. Aware of the growing influence of the Giovanni within his clan and interested in their studies of ghostly phenomena, Roberto struck up an acquaintance with the young doctor and they soon developed a friendship.

With the benefit of Robeto’s insight, Justis soon realized the power and influence that the Hansa Cities were likely to wield in years to come and advised his family to pursue closer ties. When his guesses turned right, Fabio and his master, Claudius, were well-pleased, and they approached Roberto with the notion of giving Justis the Embrace as a reward. The elder was happy to gift the brilliant youth with immortality, and gain instruction in the Black Arts at the same time, so the two of them made the journey to Venice early in 1197 CE. There, Justis joined the ranks of the Cappadocian clan.

Curiously, it was after this that Justus began to finally show some aptitude for nigrimancy, but by the time of the launching of the Fourth Crusade he was still very much a neophyte. He and Roberto (who has shown considerably more talent for nigrimancy) chose to join the pilgrimage, knowing that the conflict would bring them ample opportunity to advance their calling. They have found considerable opportunity to do so with the eminent but difficult physician, Maude Khlesl, as well as Sister Farancina of the Carthusians and Guilabert d’Avignon of the Hospitallers. Throughout the course of the Crusade, Justis has also (somewhat unwillingly) been brought into the Venetian faction of Cainites that call themselves the Serene Brotherhood by his kinsman Salvatore.